Medial olivocochlear system and loudness adaptation: differences between musicians and non-musicians

Simple loudness adaptation and crossed olivocochlear feedback were investigated--through the Tone Decay Test (TDT) and Transiently Evoked Otoacoustic Emission (TEOAE) recording, respectively--in a sample of normal-hearing subjects including both musicians and non-musicians. The results for musicians and non-musicians differed statistically: the musicians showed on average less loudness adaptation and a greater reduction in TEOAE amplitude under contralateral acoustic stimulation, suggesting a stronger medial efferent feedback on the auditory periphery in these subjects. This finding, that not only psychoacoustic performance but also the physiological mechanism is different in musicians, strongly suggests that the latter should, like the former, be influenced by auditory "training" such as music studies. This perspective is discussed in detail in the text, since it raises puzzling questions and outlined promising issues in the field of auditory psychophysiology.